A university instructor in Abbotsford, B.C. has been placed on administrative leave after video of a Creep Catchers sting was posted online.
The target of the sting is a contract sessional instructor who works on a term-by-term basis at the University of the Fraser Valley.
"With an abundance of caution this person will not be teaching scheduled classes at UFV," director of communications Dave Pinton said. The instructor will be paid while on leave.
He said there have been no complaints on campus, but that staff would be sending emails to students Wednesday.
The instructor's leave was prompted by a video posted on the Chilliwack Creep Catchers Facebook page Tuesday.
In the 90-second clip, a member of the Creep Catchers group asks a man at a McDonald's, "How old is the boy you came to meet?"
The man responds, "You're kidding me."
Creep Catchers alleges the man in the video had a sexual conversation with one of their decoys on the dating app Grindr on Tuesday, then came to the McDonald's a few hours later expecting to meet a 13-year-old boy.
When the man was questioned, he left.
"Why are you running away then? You'd think you'd want to explain it," the Creep Catchers member says.
"I'm going to call the police right now," the man says leaves the restaurant.
Police were called at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Mounties said they are investigating, and are following up to determine what happened.
The RCMP said it does not support vigilante justice techniques such as those used by Creep Catchers groups, saying the behaviour can put investigations and evidence at risk.
